The man claims he can’t walk and needs to use a wheelchair because of the generic pills he took for his cholesterol.
Mark Freeman, 47, started taking statins four years ago and had no problems until he started having trouble getting out of bed in the morning.
He suffered from fevers, muscle aches and nighttime fevers, was unable to walk for over 9 months, had to quit his job and now uses a wheelchair all the time.
He was then diagnosed with necrotizing myopathy. This is a rare autoimmune disease that causes chronic muscle inflammation and weakness.
Mark says doctors hope his symptoms will be managed with plasmapheresis — the fluid portion of his blood will be removed and replaced.
But for now, he is too sick to have surgery.
He speaks out to warn others of signs of reactions to commonly prescribed cholesterol medications.
Mark, from Ealing, West London, said: “I am miserable and very upset that I cannot stand or walk.
“I struggle to move around in a wheelchair and need an attendant to go to the bathroom, to meet other people’s schedules.
“I am very upset about my life and what happened. I lost my job and my career. I am a food technologist and I loved it.”
“I was doing really well for myself.
“Statins are safe and there is a lot of information suggesting that muscle soreness while taking statins is not caused by statins.
“My story is the exact opposite, proof that it can happen and that a reaction can change your life.
Mark started suffering from fever, muscle aches and body temperature on a night in April 2020.
I was doing really well for myself, but suddenly a muscle disease took everything from me and I lost everything.
Mark Freeman
Despite not noticing any symptoms during the day, he found himself debilitated to the point where he struggled to walk or get out of bed.
His doctor ran some tests and found that Mark had high levels of creatine kinase (CK). This is an enzyme that is released into the bloodstream by muscles when they are damaged.
He said normal CK levels in men range from 40 to 320 units per liter, but Mark measures 12,000 units per liter.
He was rushed to Ealing Hospital, where he was told to stop taking statin drugs and had an MRI scan.
This confirms that he suffers from a rare autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation and weakness of muscles.
A biopsy confirmed the presence of HMGCR antibodies in Mark’s system, confirming his diagnosis of necrotinflammatory myopathy.
He was then transferred to Charing Cross Hospital, where he spent seven weeks and was put on immunosuppressants before being sent to another hospital’s muscle rehabilitation unit.
However, the disease was still progressing and I was told that I would have to wait until it was under control.
He is now waiting to undergo a second plasmapheresis in hopes of improving his symptoms.
Mark said:
“It was hard to accept the fact that I could no longer walk or stand, and it hit me in the middle of my life at age 46.
It had a tremendous impact – it broke me as a man
Mark Freeman
“I don’t know what to do other than hope plasmapheresis will cure it. That’s the angle we’re going to take.
“I’ve been on statin drugs for four years to control my cholesterol and never had a problem.
“Suddenly, my body reacted to the statin, and I began to believe that my immune system was attacking my own muscles.
“Myositis is generally not that uncommon, it is an immunosuppressed muscle disease.
“But I got infected with a necrotic variant of the disease, which means it not only causes pain, but destroys muscle tissue.
“By the time I started taking immunosuppressants, it was too late.
“My time at Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals was very important in stopping the disease from engulfing my entire body.
“During that time the damage continued and my leg and arm muscles were sore.
Mark’s status is recognized by scholars.
One medical article states, “Statin-induced immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy is an inflammatory condition caused by statin exposure that persists even after statin discontinuation.
“It is a rare side effect of statins that is difficult to diagnose and treat.”
